The T-34-85 in WWII: A Closer
Look

by Ray Peterson

Introduction

This project all began innocently enough, with research for a future
diorama containing a T-34-85 in Poland, in the summer/fall of 1944.
As I planned on using the DML kit, I started through my reference
material to see if it was suitable. I thought I was relatively familiar
with the T-34-85, and had confidence I knew what I was looking for.
As I perused through all the photos, I found some answers, but also
many questions surfaced as I began to notice subtle differences
in the turrets I had not noticed before, nor had seen in prior publications.
I realized I needed to take notes to catalog the differences I was
finding for future reference. One thing led to another and the results
you see here.

The turret sketches that follow are inspired and loosely based
on those shown in Ref. (E). The Model Art drawings were used to
help me get a basic shape for the turrets. I decided to draw them
from the opposite angle, and then modified the shapes and added
or revised details and added notes based on the many photos of the
various references. The sketch format also allowed me to portray
the turrets without trying to show any exact scale. As I do not
have ready physical access to any T-34-85's, I do not have the ability
to get exact dimensions. This sketch format was perfect for showing
specific characteristics without worrying about dimensions. The
roof plan sketches were partially based on drawings in Ref. (F).

A Brief History

The T-34-85 began with an urgent need for a heavier-armed tank.
With the introduction of the Panther and Tiger to the battlefield,
the Soviet armored units found themselves at a distinct disadvantage.
An order went out in May 1943 to develop a new tank cannon to deal
with the problem. By the middle of 1943, four 85mm gun variants
were ready for trials, the D-5-T, the S-53, the S-50, and the LB-85.
The S-53 was the winner of the competitive trials. Now a tank was
needed to mount them on.

The T-43 had been in development beginning in 1942, an attempt
to modernize and eliminate shortcomings of the T-34 design. Changes
included up-armoring and increasing the size of the crew compartment.
It was still armed with the 76mm gun. Once it had been decided to
up-arm to the 85mm gun, the T-43 quickly lost favor. At 34.1 tons
already, the heavier cannon would make things only worse. An 85mm
gun was fitted for trials, but that was the end of the T-43 program.

Now, things turned towards up-gunning the T-34. At first an attempt
was made to install the S-53 cannon in the standard T-34 turret.
However, it was decided the turret was too cramped and two men could
not effectively operate the weapon. Therefore it was decided a new
turret was needed. Both Zavod #112 "Krasnoye Sormovo"
and Zavod #183 "Nizhniy Tagil" worked on designs. These
designs were based on, but not copies of, the T-43 turret.

The first turrets ready were to be those of "Krasnoye Sormovo."
However, it became clear the S-53 cannon could not be installed
in the turret without limiting its elevation. A change in design
would be needed. In the meantime, it was decided to mount the D-5-T
gun as an interim solution. It was planned to produce 100 turrets
by the end of 1943, but in fact, the new turrets did not come off
the assembly line until January 1944.

Meanwhile, the S-53 gun could be installed in the Zavod. #183 turrets
without any problems. The Red Army accepted the S-53 gun in January
1944, and production began in March. Following soon after were the
re-designed turrets of Zavod #112, plus an additional factory, Zavod.
#174, began producing 85mm armed turrets. After field trials however,
a problem was found with the recoil of the S-53 gun. After revisions,
the Zis-S-53 gun was born. This replaced the S-53 cannon at Zavod.
#183 in the summer of 1944. In all, 11,518 S-53 and 14,265 ZiS-S-53
guns were produced in 1944-45, with some of the ZiS-S-53 guns also
being installed in the T-44.

Production of the T-34-85 continued through 1946, with various
production changes occurring along the way. An electric traverse
motor was added in the summer of 1944. A new, larger, commander's
cupola was introduced in January 1945. The ventilators in some factories
were split forward and back of the turret to help ventilation in
late 1945. All told, about 23,000 T-34-85 tanks were built during
WWII, with about 13,900 produced by Zavod. #183, 6,300 produced
by Zavod. #112, and 2,900 by Zavod. #174. (Note: exact numbers vary
depending on source.)

The "1943 Production Turret"

Turret Notes

This is the early Zavod. #112, commonly referred to as the 1943
Production Turret, although tanks did not roll out of the factory
until January 1944. These turrets had the early style roof (which
I refer to as a "Type A" roof) with the commander's cupola
more towards the center. Approximately 300 D-5-T armed turrets were
built, most (but not all, see notes for the subsequent Zavod. #112
Spring '44 Turret) of which were based on this turret. Some resources
mention the first produced turrets featured only one ventilator
at the rear, and were based on a standard hull with curved bow and
possibly without reinforcing fillets or angles at the base of the
turret ring. However photos of the 38th Independent Tank
Regiment, the first unit to receive the T-34-85, show the turret
above on a hull with pointed bow and reinforcing fillets. (See photo
on page 5, Ref. (A) as well as many other references.) I am led
to believe those single-vented turrets were only the prototypes
and probably (never say never) did not see service. By the way,
references seem to disagree on turret crew. Some say these early
turrets only had a crew of two, others say a crew of three, the
gunner being so cramped as to be virtually sitting on the commander's
lap.

Hull Notes

Hulls were basically the same as the original T-34 series, with
the exception of the enlarged turret rings. The bow was also changed
to a pointed style to simplify construction. As mentioned above,
a reinforcing fillet was added in front of and to each side of the
turret ring. This appears on all T-34-85's of all styles per the
photos. The radio on these first turrets was located in the original
position in the hull. Most of these first T-34-85's had a unusual
fuel tank arrangement. They carried three tanks, but with the single
tank on the left side in the forward position. Most all pictures
show tanks with this turret to use solid roadwheels.

Zavod. #112, Spring '44 Production Turret

Turret Notes

This is the revised 1943 Production Turret with the new ZiS-S-53
gun and the Type B Roof with the commander's cupola moved back to
provide more room for the gun mount and gunner. Note the removal
of the vision slit above the pistol port on the left side. (All
T-34-85 turrets retained the vision slit on the right side throughout
WWII). Also, the radio has now been moved to the turret and an aerial
mount is just forward of the commander's cupola. There is some contradicting
information about the gun and whether it was a ZiS-S-53 or a S-53
gun, which I will discuss later. As noted on the drawing, one picture
as seen on page 56, Ref. (C), shows this turret armed with a D-5-T
gun. This leads me to believe the change in roof layout was more
for crew efficiency than fitting a different weapon.

Hull Notes

Hulls for this series were much the same as hulls for the 1943
Production Turrets. The plug for the radio was still located on
the hull side for at least some of the tanks, though no radio was
carried there. Some pics show the extra fuel tank on the left in
the forward position; others show it in the more standard rear position.
Roadwheels were again typically of the solid type, though single
wheels, probably replacements, are sometimes seen in the half-finned
style. One interesting item, though. A picture that can be seen
(in color!) at
http://www.algonet.se/~toriert/attack.jpg from Ref. (M), shows
the plumbing for smoke dischargers on the rear of the tank (no smoke
canister mounts however). Other references state this addition did
not occur until the summer of 1944. This makes me wonder if this
turret actually may have been in production until the summer of
'44 or if the smoke system began to be added earlier than noted.

"Flattened Style" Turret, Spring '44 Production

Turret Notes

The most common turret was of this style, produced by Zavod. #183.
It is named for the slightly flattened area on each side. This turret
was originally armed with the S-53 gun which can be distinguished
by the bulges at each side of the collar. A good picture of this
period turret is at
http://www.geocities.com/~fi1877/ps245003.html , from Ref. (L).
There is some confusion surrounding this gun. Some sources say the
S-53 was produced from spring '44 to summer '44 when the ZiS-S-53
replaced it. Other sources say the ZiS-S-53 started production much
earlier. My question is whether the bulged collar was required for
the S-53 mount, or if was it just an early collar design. One reference
actually refers to the bulged collar as a S-53 mount, but another
lists it as simply an early ZiS-S-53 variant. Another possibility,
though purely speculation on my part, is perhaps the ZiS-S-53 did
start production earlier and outfitted tanks from Zavod. #112 and
Zavod. #174 (both of which there is no clear photo evidence of ever
having the bulged collar), but that for quota's sake Zavod. #183
used the S-53 until summer '44 when ZiS-S-53 production was high
enough to provide guns for all factories. Ref. (F) seems to bear
this possibility out, listing very high production numbers for the
S-53 gun, near that of the ZiS-S-53 gun. At any rate, the bulged
collar shows up quite late in the series, with one photo on page
8 of Ref. (F) showing a turret with the bulged collar and the bulge
for the electric traverse, which didn't enter production until summer
'44. Note the horizontal seam line of this turret was on a flat
plane completely around the turret. Also, a very rough casting nub
appears on each side, which appears to protrude about 3 to 4 cm
or 1" to 1½".

Hull Notes

Hulls seen with this style turret have the usual T-34-85 features
of pointed bow and reinforcing fillets, but now seem to have deleted
the hull radio plug, though it is possible the first tanks may have
had this feature. Roadwheels on tanks from this factory primarily
show the half-finned style, but some had solid wheels. Some pics
show a mix, usually a single different wheel, probably from repairs.
No smoke plumbing is typically seen on tanks with this early turret,
though the smoke generation system is seen in some photos. Evidently
the smoke system was introduced late spring or early summer. Good
examples of this period are on page 28 of Ref. (N), with photo #75
of a vehicle of the 4th Guards showing smoke plumbing
and canisters and photo #77 of a vehicle of the 26th
Guards without smoke generator plumbing or canisters. These pictures
date around mid-summer of '44 so the tanks are probably late-spring
production. The turrets shown in both photos do not have the thickened
area around the pistol port, but do not have the bulge for the electric
traverse either.

"Composite Turret" Summer '44 Production

Turret Notes

The so-called Composite Turret is associated by some references
with Zavod. #112. This appears to be correct considering the similar
shape of the seam and also similar location of the casting numbers.
A theory I have is that maybe this is Zavod. #112's revised casting
to be able to fit the electric traverse? I have no way to confirm
that, but it is true that no composite turret is ever seen with
a bulge for the traverse, including 1945 production and post-war
versions, so the traverse must have fit without modification. Note
the shape of the lower part of the turret at the forward seam seems
to vary a bit in the photos. I tried to match what is seen on page
70, Ref. (C), or page 39, Ref. (D). Note this a pretty rough turret,
including the rear portion that extends down to create a flat bottom,
as if it was made of a steel plate. I believe this is because of
how the original master was made for the molds, as it is obvious
from the photos the entire turret was cast, and the vertical seam
does not appear to be a weld.

Hull Notes

Hulls for this style pretty much matched the hulls for the Flattened
Style turrets. Smoke discharger plumbing is seen on some of the
photos, but it is impossible to tell if they all had it. Road wheels
were typically of the solid style.

"Flattened Style" Turret, Summer '44 Production

Turret Notes

This turret shows the revisions made by Zavod. 183 by late summer
of '44. This includes the bulge for the electric traverse, removal
of the fairing at the pistol port, and the later style collar for
the ZiS-S-53 gun. Wire tie-downs also make their appearance on the
rear of the turret.

Hull Notes

Most hulls of this time, but not all, now carry the smoke generator
plumbing. Also, the front mudguards are squared off about the time
of these other modifications, though some cross-over occurred. As
per other tanks from this factory, the road wheels are mostly of
the half-finned variety, though some solid wheels are also seen.
Another addition seen is small fittings are added to the front glacis
plate for adding spare tracks. A good picture of this feature is
on page 66 of Ref. (C).

"Flattened Style" Turret, 1945 Production

Turret Notes

The final version of the Flattened Style turret is the 1945 version.
The main difference between this one and the summer '44 version
is the larger, one leaf commander's cupola. This is the turret version
seen in the DML kit.

Hull Notes

The hull details seen with this turret are basically identical
to the summer '44 hulls. The only visible difference is the road
wheels now typically feature the full-finned style (again, as per
the DML kit), though some are still seen with solid wheels.

"Composite Turret" Late 1945 Production

Turret Notes

I have included this turret simply for completeness. This turret
is often referred to as the ''1946 Production” turret, though references
state production actually began in late 1945, technically during
WWII, so I have included it. No photo evidence exists that I have
found showing any tanks with this style turret that actually saw
action. The major feature is the relocation of one of the fans to
the front of the turret. The design of the exhaust fan armored cap
is also slightly changed. This style turret is what is included
in the Maquette T-34-85 kit.

Hull Notes

The hull is essentially the same as the Flattened Turret 1945-production
hull except for the roadwheels, which seem to be mostly solid style
with no perforations or the full-finned style, which shows in some
post-war photos.

"Center Seam Style", Spring '44?? Production Turret

Turret Notes

This is a new style to me, which I am dubbing the "Center
Seam" style for the casting seam which occurs near the center
of the turret all the way around. I have never seen this style referred
to in any English language book, and seem to occur in only one Russian
book, page 40 in Ref. (I). Other references do have photos of this
style, including page 14 in Ref. (A), page 39 in Ref. (H), and pages
20 and 22 in Ref. (G). Most of these photos by the way are of the
same unit, the Polish 1st "Bohaterow Westerplatte"
Armored Brigade. I am speculating this turret style might be an
early version of a Zavod. #174 tank, only by process of elimination,
and per the fact that the Angle-Jointed Style photos seem to imply
a later production vehicle, not to mention post-war produced T-34-85's
which seemed to keep the Angle-Jointed style, or a variant thereof.
The turret does not seem to feature a flattened area on its sides,
which would tend to rule out Zavod #183. However, it is also just
as likely it is simply a turret manufactured by a sub-contractor
to any of the T-34-85 tank factories, probably with low production
numbers due to the lack of photos. We may never learn the full story.

Hull Notes

The hulls for this style turret seem to have the same features
as any of the other Spring '44 hulls, including rounded front fenders.
It is unclear whether any were fitted with smoke generator plumbing
or fittings. Road wheels seem to be all of the solid variety.

''Angle-Jointed Style'', Summer '44?? Production
Turret

Turret Notes

This drawing is based on the picture featured on page 3 of Ref.
(D), also on page 65 of Ref. (C). This is the only real clear picture
of an Angle-Jointed turret in action during WWII that I could find,
although I believe a couple of pictures are also in Ref. (G) but
are not a positive ID. The turret has basically the same features
of any other summer '44 turret, although the electric traverse does
not appear to have been installed. At least no bulge is noticeable,
and bulges for the electric traverse are featured in post-war versions
of this turret. One odd feature of this photo is the commander's
cupola. It appears more cylindrical, like a 1945 style cupola, yet
has the two leaves of a 1944 style cupola. 1944 cupola's typically
have a taper on the top third of the cylinder which appears to be
missing on this example. I don't know if it is just the light or
a production variation.

Hull Notes

The hull in the photo appears to be a re-manufactured hull from
a 76mm armed tank. It has a rounded front fillet but with squared
off front fenders. One resource mentions that re-manufacturing did
occur during the summer of '44 so this seems to fit. It is this
feature that leads me to believe this turret variant came after
the ''Center Seam” turret. Other tanks in the picture appear to
have normal late style hulls with squared fillets. Wheels appear
to be of the solid style.

Turret Roofs

Early Roof Notes

These series of drawings are to better illustrate the changes to
the roof plans of the turrets. It is easy to see how the commander's
cupola was moved back, along to a lesser degree the loader's hatch
and the ventilators. Note, if you wish to model a 1944 production
turret, the early commander's cupola is the same as that of the 1943
prod. T-34/76 or the SU-85 or SU-100. Per the drawings in Ref. (F),
I would use the Zvesda cupola from their SU-100 kit, as it appears
exactly the right size, or the one form the DML SU-100 which is only
slightly too large. The Tamiya T-34/76 cupola however is too small.

Late Roof Notes

The later turret roofs are typified by the larger commander's hatch.
You can see how it just slightly sits off the edge, requiring a slight
bulge in the turret casting as seen in the Flattened Style, 1945 Production
turret above. Also shown is the late war, and post-war, style with
the separated ventilators.

Summary

I hope this article has many of you pulling out your reference material,
looking closer at the photos. I know I found many surprises as I dug
further into the subject. I hope some of you can point out to me some
new photos or observations and I hope to have further conversations
in the discussion group. You can also e-mail me at (TBA) . Maybe between
your observations, and the fact I have 3 more T-34-85 books on order,
I will have to put out an addendum to this article!